He said that the six were freed as they no longer posed security threats to the country.

Five of them — comprising two Thai nationals who were members of a separatist group, and three Malaysians, one of them a member of the JI militant group — were released on 4 Dec, he said.

Another Malaysian, Yazid Sufaat, also a JI member, was released last month, said Syed Hamid.

“If a detainee no longer poses a threat to the country, the person will be released after rehabilitation and returned to the society,” he told reporters at parliament lobby here today.

Syed Hamid said there were 75 ISA detainees at the time when he was appointed to the portfolio in March but the number had gone down to 46 people at the moment.

He said that of the total, 16 were JI members, 13 Darul Islam members, 10 involved in identity card and passport forgeries, five Hindraf members and two individuals who were working for foreign intelligence agencies.

On the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa, Syed Hamid said, he would instruct the National Registration Department (NRD) to assist the victims who lost their identification documents in the incident.

If need be, the NRD would open a special counter near the landslide area to facilitate the renewals of the documents, he added. — Bernama